Haute cuisine in London

Author: Guy Dimond

9:45AM, Oct 9, 2013

Restaurants, bars and a hotel are breathing life into The
Shard.

From almost any vantage in London, The Shard - glass clad and
aptly named - dominates the skyline. More than a year after
reaching full height, the tallest building in Europe - 310 metres
and 87 floors - is coming to life, with a trio of restaurants in
business and a 202-room Shangri-La hotel opening in November.

The hotel, on floors 34 to 52, will share the address with office
space, penthouse apartments and a public viewing deck at 244 metres
(floors 68-72). The Shangri-La's design brief is understated
simplicity with state-of-the art technology such as
"body-contouring technology" beds, with rooms from $605 per
night.

Below the hotel, though also with vertiginous pricing, are The
Shard's three showcase restaurants. The best is Hutong on level 33
(pictured above), a branch of the Aqua Group's Hong Kong restaurant
of the same name. Even the décor - plush black
Orient-meets-modernist - is faithful to the original. Its modern
Chinese menu picks fashionable Sichuan and northern Chinese dishes,
but tones down the spice. One floor below is Oblix, a New
York-style East-meets-West grill and wine bar from the team that
also runs the well-regarded Zuma and Roka restaurants. This is the
best Shard venue for a glass of wine and live music. For a quiet
cocktail without the hassle of reservations, Aqua Shard on level 31
has the most capacious bar of the three, with a modern British,
expense-account restaurant attached.